00:00It is Mary Kay Cabot. Hi, Mary Kay. How are you?
00:05I'm doing great, guys. How are you doing?
00:07Good, good, good.
00:07Hi, Mary Kay.
00:08All a little busy here.
00:10We're going to talk about Miles Garrett.
00:11I'm just interested in one little niche thing that happened in the press conference this morning.
00:16You asked one of the questions that I thought was very intriguing and that I don't know that we got
00:20an answer.
00:21You go back to a year ago with Denzel Ward and what he had said if Miles was leaving at
00:27that point.
00:28You had one and I thought somebody else had a question about Denzel Ward and his future with the team
00:35based on that.
00:36What do you think about that now?
00:40Yeah, I actually asked both of those questions about Denzel Ward because I really do wonder now what the outlook
00:48and the future is for Denzel now that Miles is gone.
00:51When Miles was running around Radio Row telling everyone that he wanted to be traded and demanding to be traded,
00:58I also spoke to Denzel there and that's when he said that it would make him kind of question his
01:06own situation if the Browns traded Miles Garrett.
01:09And so I do have to wonder now how Denzel feels.
01:14And we haven't had a chance to talk to him yet here at practice because he hasn't shown up for
01:20OTAs this year.
01:21Now he did talk to reporters at his football camp last week and just said he's been kind of, you
01:28know, doing his own thing a little bit and getting ready for the season and he'll have something for these
01:33guys when he gets back.
01:35But we haven't seen him here yet, so we don't really know what's going through his mind at this point.
01:41But I think if the Browns have talked to him or do get a chance to talk to him about
01:46this soon, I think they'll sell it to him the way that they have to everyone else.
01:50And that is, they didn't just give away the best defensive player in the NFL.
01:55They got back a player that they're really, really excited about and they are not tanking this season.
02:01What did you think of the answer they gave you back, though?
02:06Well, I didn't get the answer that I was kind of looking for in terms of are you open to
02:12trading Denzel because he kind of said, you know, Miles wasn't on the block.
02:18So he didn't really directly answer that question.
02:21And then he did say you have to talk to Denzel about how he feels right now.
02:26But Miles was never on the block and we're not in the market of trading players right now.
02:33Mary Kay, I've used the word you used in your story today several times and given you credit for it.
02:40I think you nailed it when you said they picked up a suitable replacement for Miles Garrett.
02:46With that thought in mind, in this team coming off a five-win season, I think you've got to look
02:51at this and think, all right,
02:53the defense shouldn't take a step back because of a change at defensive end.
02:57And if it does, it's for other reasons.
02:59And they picked up some draft capital that they might be able to put to use if they need it
03:04for a franchise quarterback in this coming draft.
03:07Am I reading the tea leaves correctly there?
03:10Yeah, I think so.
03:12I really do believe that this was a wise and shrewd move for them.
03:16And I look at it as though they got two first-round picks out of it.
03:21And one of those first-round picks is Jared Burse.
03:24And they already know they nailed that first-round pick because he's a two-time Pro Bowler and the NFL
03:31Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2024.
03:33We looked some things up today and discovered that of the group of 19 players since, I think, 1998 that
03:41are in that category,
03:43eight of them have gone on to make the Hall of Fame.
03:45And that's something Miles Garrett never even did, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year plus two original ballot Pro Bowls
03:51in his first two years.
03:52So I think that the Browns probably have a premier edge rusher on their hands here for a long time.
04:01They're very, very excited about what he brings to the table.
04:04And I just think that this was a really, really good move for them at this point in time.
04:13When you first heard the news that this was going down, what went through your mind?
04:17You know, we're talking about Hall of Fame guy and letting him go.
04:22I'm just curious.
04:23You've covered this team for a long time.
04:24What is this going to mean in the locker room, too?
04:27Well, I had it drilled into my head so many times that they weren't trading Miles that I was surprised.
04:33Because just sitting there talking to Andrew Barry and Jimmy Haslam at the owners' meetings in March, they were adamant
04:38they weren't trading him.
04:39And for Andrew to call him a career Brown, that's a pretty big statement to make.
04:44And all we've ever heard about Miles Garrett coming out of Berea and out of Andrew Barry's mouth is that
04:51he's going to be a one-helmet Brown, and he's going to be here.
04:53So I was surprised by that.
04:55The thing you remember about Andrew Barry, he's an opportunistic general manager.
04:59And he will seize the moment, and that's what he did here.
05:02This is a great opportunity for the team.
05:04On a smaller scale, the same thing happened last year with Greg Newsom for Tyson Campbell.
05:10They were not planning on trading Greg Newsom.
05:12A team came along, made them an offer they couldn't refuse, and they went ahead and made the deal.
05:18So I was shocked at first.
05:19I was surprised that it was actually going to happen.
05:22I caught wind of it a little bit earlier yesterday morning and wrote something even before I headed down to
05:28the golf tournament
05:29because I knew that those trade winds were blowing and that something could be imminent.
05:35But, you know, at that point, I was very surprised that it was going to happen.
05:41And now I really do see the wisdom in it, and I think the fans will see it too.
05:46Now they're poised, as you mentioned earlier, they're poised to perhaps end up getting that quarterback with one of these
05:52draft picks
05:53or packaging something and getting that quarterback of the future, which they might really need in 2027.
06:01And I just think it's a good trade.
06:02I think it's interesting, NFL countdown on ESPN, Chris Shula, the defensive coordinator of the Rams,
06:10told them last year that Verse was the Rams' Draymond Green.
06:15As far as the attitude, the excitement, kind of a little bit of a wild hair instigator, inspirer,
06:26I'm anxious to see that in this Browns defense, Mary Kay.
06:29What impact do you think that will have?
06:32Well, he does have a very lively personality.
06:35He's loquacious.
06:37He's going to bring it when we talk to him, I think.
06:40I think he's going to be a very, very vocal leader in the locker room.
06:44I think he's going to fit right in with all of the other guys on this football team that are
06:48now in his age range.
06:49It's a very, very young football team.
06:52So, I think it just aligns.
06:55It just fits really well.
06:56And, again, I think that he brings the heat from a personality standpoint, as does a Quincy Williams.
07:05So, I think they have some fire on this defense now.
07:08And I think that will also be reflected in their new defensive coordinator,
07:11who, when we're out there watching practice, you can certainly hear Mike Rupert at all times.
07:18What do you – tell me how this projects out in the future for this team.
07:23And you see verse, and you see what they have with these draft picks.
07:27And, you know, we've talked about it.
07:29This puts them in a position to have more capital if they want to go after a quarterback in the
07:33next draft,
07:33at least one more first-round pick.
07:35Your thoughts about how this projects?
07:38Well, I think it projects well, especially, once again, when you look at the upside potential for Jared Verse.
07:46Again, he's got 12 sacks in his first two seasons, but he's really made his hay in the pressures department.
07:51He's number three in pressures over the last two years after Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons.
07:58And so, they're going to be in great shape from that standpoint, I believe.
08:03So, I think they're great there.
08:05And then they've got the first-round pick next year, which, again, they might be able to parlay somehow into
08:12a quarterback.
08:13And then you've got the second-rounder and the third-rounder in the next two years, and those are also
08:18premium picks.
08:19So, if they play their cards right, they should get at least four starters out of this trade.
08:25And, you know, that's kind of similar to what they ended up with out of the trade down from number
08:31two to number five with the Jaguars.
08:32And if they can get four starters out of this one trade, then I think they've done very, very well
08:38for themselves.
08:40Anything else here before training camp gets here?
08:46You know what?
08:48Transaction-wise?
08:49I think they're pretty well set right now, unless something unforeseen happens.
08:55And, again, I'm not saying that something would happen with Denzel Ward, but I think we need to hear from
09:00Denzel and sort of have some reassurance that, yes, I still want to be here.
09:05Yes, I'm excited to still be here.
09:07So, once we have that, then I think we can say that, you know, that they – sorry, I'm out.
09:15It's okay.
09:16Careful.
09:18I came out here because I thought it would be quiet.
09:21So much for that.
09:22Anyway.
09:23Normally we hear garbage dumpsters from Berea, so that's okay.
09:26It sounds pretty good.
09:28Yeah, so I don't really see any other huge transitions, transactions coming down the pike.
09:34But, once again, Andrew likes to make trades, so you never know.
09:39What do you think Todd Munkin thinks of this deal?
09:42Again, I thought it was a great point.
09:44I think he likes it.
09:44Yeah.
09:45I think he likes it, and here's why I say that.
09:48Miles has not shown up for anything this entire offseason.
09:52He hasn't stopped in to meet his new head coach.
09:54He hasn't stopped in to meet his new defensive coordinator.
09:59And Todd Munkin is all about the kinds of players that would be here even if they weren't getting paid
10:07as much as they do.
10:08Guys that just love ball.
10:10And when we very first asked him about Miles not attending, he said, well, I would sure be here.
10:16And I think that said something.
10:17I think he was sending a message that, you know, show up.
10:21We're putting in new systems.
10:23We have new coaches, and Miles chose not to do that.
10:26And on some level, I just don't know if that was necessarily the best way to get in the good
10:36graces of his new head coach.
10:38I thought the other thing he said yesterday, sorry, was the stuff that Munkin said about Brendan Sorsby.
10:44Like, kind of put his foot down about why would anyone even be looking at, I don't know, I read
10:51into it was, here's a coach that really doesn't want to deal with an issue that is, like, super hot
10:58as far as gambling in the game.
11:00I just, I actually like what Todd said.
11:03I just wonder if that's what the front office thinks.
11:05Yeah, because everything else at quarterback is so calm here.
11:08Well, I mean, yeah, yeah.
11:09You're right.
11:11Yeah, well, we did ask Andrew about that today, and he just said they'll do the work on the player
11:17the way that they do about anybody that would be coming out in the supplemental draft.
11:21And with Sorsby, they had already done plenty of work on him because he may have come out in the
11:262025 draft.
11:28So, you know, they'll do their due diligence, but I think, you know, perhaps Todd was speaking for the organization
11:36when he mentioned that that could be a slippery slope for them.
11:40You know, he put his two cents in, and I'm guessing that that means that they probably won't be hot
11:46on Sorsby's heels.
11:50Okay, let's get this thing going.
11:52Do you think Jared Verse will be in town for any OTA work, or will he wait until mandatories?
11:58Well, I think he'll be here actually tomorrow.
12:00I think we're going to get a chance to talk to him tomorrow.
12:03I don't know if he'll be out on the field yet, but, you know, they said he's really excited to
12:07be here.
12:09You know, he is from Dayton.
12:10I mean, he was at least born in Dayton, so he's at least set foot here before in Ohio.
12:17And I believe we'll get a chance to talk to him tomorrow.
12:21Mary Kay, as always, thank you.
12:22You know, we're reading you all the time.
12:23Great questions there, too.
12:25Again, right off the top when we were talking about Denzel Ward, too.
12:29So awesome stuff today.
12:30Mary Kay, you know, we love reading your stuff.
12:31We know we love talking to you every week.
12:33Thanks, Mary Kay.
12:35Thank you, guys.
12:36All right.
12:36She is Mary Kay Cabot.
12:37Make sure you read her every day in The Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com.
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